Shia LaBeouf Directed a Marilyn Manson Video


You thought nothing this week could ever top the “wha?” factor of the Insane Clown Posse/Jack White/Mozart collaboration? You thought wrong: “Born Villain,” the music video Shia LaBeouf directed for Marilyn Manson, has arrived.

Between the bar fights and affairs with Megan Fox, and crapping on his own movies, Shia has long been more interesting off-screen than on. Right now, he’s also having a bit of a James Franco moment. Speaking with MTV, LaBeouf described “Born Villain” as “Manson’s ‘Un Chien Andalou’ macabre ‘Macbeth'” and warned fans of his movies that they might not like it: “I don’t see fans of mine who went to see ‘Holes’ when they were 12 loving this. I don’t think my audience is the only thing I should exercise my artistic muscle for.” Shia, please, don’t ever stop doing you.

As for the video, a warning: if you’re currently eating, just ate, or plan on eating at some point today or tomorrow, look away. In the grand Marilyn Manson fashion, the clip is a nonsensical barrage of arbitrarily spooky imagery. But it’s a barrage that is — and here the directorial chops of Mr. LaBeouf should certainly be noted — effectively, overwhelmingly gross. Amid the relatively innocuous (hey, a lion!) there’s some gnarly stuff: a woman tearing up as her cheek is punctured, some grotesque glass-eye-related surgery, and an execution. What does it all mean? Not much. Quoth Manson in the video (via the aforementioned Macbeth): “This is a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury. It signifies nothing.”

Filed Under: Art, Marilyn Manson, Music, Shia Labeouf

Amos Barshad has written for New York Magazine, Spin, GQ, XXL, and the Arkansas Times. He is a staff writer for Grantland.

Archive @ AmosBarshad